Mexico climbs 11 positions in the Global Connectivity Index

14/02/2019

The results of the Global Connectivity Index of DHL 2018 (GCI, after its acronym in English) indicate that the levels of information flow, people, capitals and products reached record highs in the period 2017. But the positive historical evolution of the globalization process reflected by the results is limited by the subtitle received by this edition of the GCI: "The state of globalization in a fragile world", which expresses the concern with the relatively recent emergence of regimes that threaten with protectionist and closure policies. borders.

The graphs that cover the data from 2001 to 2017 describe ascending diagonals for the flow of information and people, with a growth in this period for the first line of 175%, and close to 30% for the second. The evolution of merchandise and capital flows was different.

Capital and merchandise flows saw their best record -with respect to 2001- in 2007 and 2008, respectively. After those peaks, they registered abrupt falls -the biggest of the historical series-. Capital flows -of more immediate reactions- fell by almost 25% in 2008 compared to 2001 levels, mainly due to the global economic crisis that year. International trade would register a drop in 2009, the year after the explosion of the crisis, of around 25 percentage points, referring to 2001.

2017 marked improvement over 2016 for capital and goods flows, contrary to the expectations generated with the arrival of Donald Trump to the White House. Nations around the world seem to have stepped on the accelerator of globalization to counteract phenomena such as the protectionist policies announced by the president of the United States and the triumph of Brexit in the United Kingdom. From 2016 to 2017 the flow of capital grew 20%, and the merchandise flow, almost 7 percentage points.

Mexico was placed in position 68, which means an increase of 11 places since the measurement of 2015 when it was ranked 79 out of 169. Chile occupies position 51, the best for a country in Latin America.

The improvement of Mexico in the global connection with respect to 2015 occurred mainly in the vertical of the commercial flow, although it also experienced a growth in the items of capital flow and information.

The GCI data indicate that international flows from Mexico have as their main recipient the United States, with 76% of the total. China is the second place, with 4% of the volume of flows. In third place is Canada, with 2%, followed by Spain (1.7%), Germany (1.7%), Japan (1.5%), South Korea (1.1%), The Netherlands (1.1%), United Kingdom (0.9%) ) and Brazil (0.8 percent).

The trade flows to which the study refers take into account merchandise and service exports. Capital flows refer to investment portfolios and direct foreign investment. In the flows of people are considered international tourism, migration and foreign students. Finally, the flow of information includes internet traffic and bandwidth, as well as voice calls and exports of printed publications.

The GCI analysis also indicates that the perception of the world population regarding the volume of information flows, people, capitals and merchandise is greater than the real one. Merchandise exports were located at an average level of 41% with respect to the total production of the same, when in fact it is 20 percent. Similar case for capital, which public opinion calculated at 30% when this percentage is 7 percent.

The migratory phenomenon goes through the same alteration with respect to its perception. Those consulted expressed their belief that 30% of the world population makes up migratory flows when the reality is that this percentage is only 3 percent.

And we are not as communicated as we thought. The actual number of international calls is only 3% with respect to the total number of calls made by any means of communication. The population placed this percentage at 36 percent.

The GCI offers a ranking of countries that rank according to the level of connectivity they have. The small and island nations are those with the greatest presence among those that score the best in levels of connectivity, given their dependence on foreign trade to obtain products and capital. The Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates are in the top five of the 169 nations included in the study. In the last five positions are, in descending order, Yemen, Kiribati, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Sudan. The most connected region is Europe, followed by North America.

DHL, a global company in the logistics sector, states in its Global Connectivity Index that greater connectivity drives the economic growth of nations.